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Beta Readers – Seriously… High Five

Earlier this week I was handed a printed hardcopy of my novel. The manuscript was all marked up with fantastic notes and comments, each hand-written by the first of my responding beta readers. I cherish every scribble and each has already drastically improved the quality of Cravings.

It’s hard to appropriately express gratitude for something like that.

I was nervous when I finally resolved to stop fussing over the manuscript and expose it for critique. It’s not like the book is autobiographical or anything. It’s a completely fictional tale. Still, and as is the case for so many projects, there is always the desire to include just a few more little tweaks or changes. There is a drive to capture some small bit that I want to work into the dialogue or whatever it may be.

Right now I need comments on the story as a whole, and therein lies the tension. I can’t afford to have mistakes pull a reader out of the story. I don’t want to squander the one shot that I get with a trusted critic. I want the manuscript to be perfect. That’s the part that was making me nervous.

You get somewhere between 0.0 and 1.0 reads from a committed beta reader. It’s like the opposite of when the doctor asks you how much alcohol you drink.

Contemplative Patient says, “Oh… three to four drinks a week. Maybe a couple more if we have a BBQ on the weekend.”

Translation: Four beers and half a bottle of rum a night.

From what I’ve seen and read, most readers will tell you that they are farther along than they actually are. I’m fine with that. It’s a huge commitment of time to read and comment on an entire novel. Like I said, it’s hard to express how grateful I am to those who have taken their own time to read and thoughtfully comment.

Now that I have one response back, the nervous butterflies are gone. Now, I’m just anxious for more feedback. My first response revealed a continuity error and showed me some places where I’m being a little heavy-handed with a theme. It’s also given me a window into what parts of the book make an emotional connection. I’m now better armed for what readers will want to see more of in future works.